Serial rapist Baker chose sites for his attacks that suggested he knew the area well:

1. The sickening rape of a 15-year old schoolgirl by Baker was so horrific it stunned even the most experienced of detectives.

The teenager was pounced on as she walked along London Road on her way home in the early hours of August 31 last year - bank holiday Monday.

As she got to the Eaton Road area of Leigh the unsuspecting girl was grabbed in a stranglehold from behind and told she would be killed if she struggled.

Baker then made her put her arm around his waist so they looked like a normal courting couple to any passing motorists.

She was steered across the road and even made to stop in the middle to let a car drive past, before being taken into the grounds of Belfairs swimming pool, where she was subjected to a prolonged terrifying and degrading attack.

2. Less than two weeks later Baker was back in Southend.

His first victim on September 12 was yet another teenage girl.

The 16-year-old was pounced on as she walked through the Queensway underpass in Southend at 9.30pm.

The girl's boyfriend, who always walked her home, had stormed off after a row.

But he decided to wait around to make sure she got to the other side of the underpass safely.

When she failed to appear he went looking for her only to find her in the clutches of Baker.

In just a few minutes she had been indecently assaulted and it was only the sudden arrival of her boyfriend which prevented Baker from unleashing a far more serious assault.

But even then Baker was prepared to stand and argue and fight to get what he wanted.

3. His attempts in the underpass thwarted, Baker struck again just two hours later in Beedell Avenue, Westcliff.

This time his victim was a 21-year-old woman.

She was subjected to a prolonged ordeal during which she was seriously sexually assaulted in the grounds of a vacant house right under the glare of a street light.

The victim was so terrified she would be killed she didn't dare scream for help from people who were rushing back to their cars in the rain - passing just a few feet from where she was being attacked.

Scenes of attack - above the Belfairs Park area of Leigh, Queensway in Southend and Beedell Avenue, Westcliff Expert in the care of victims

Det Con Angie Scothern joined Essex Police 12 years ago. She worked in Harlow for two years while training and then became a beat officer for a year.

From there she moved to the Child Protection Unit covering cases reported in the Thurrock division.

There she received training and guidance on how to deal with alleged sexual and cruelty offences involving children.

Now she is with CID at Essex Police headquarters in Chelmsford.

Det Con Scothern said: "Many female victims of sexual crime prefer to speak with a female officer.

"I wanted to be properly trained so I could do my best for these women. I needed to know about points of evidence which need to be proved and how to deal with the exhibits.

"Operation Monarch has certainly been a very interesting case. I have dealt with five of the 12 victims. They include those who were raped and those who managed to fight back.

"All sorts of situations crop up. One of the victims - who was forced to flee - went to sign on for benefit and was asked why she had put herself voluntarily out of work."

"She was devastated. She didn't want to have to discuss her ordeal with a total stranger.

"As her victim liaison officer I was able to be there for her and sort it out. The lack of compassion and understanding victims sometimes come up against is frightening but at least they don't have to cope alone." If you are askedto be a decoy...

Your boss asks you dress up for a night out and, all alone and in the dark, walk streets which are being prowled by a sex attacker. Would you do it?

That is exactly what three undercover women police officers at Southend did.

The plucky PCs gave up their Friday and Saturday nights for three weeks to take part in a complex and ambitious operation to try and lure the fiend.

Here, one of the decoys - a 31-year-old officer who has worked for Essex Police for four years - describes her part in the hunt for the rapist.

"There had been three incidents reported in less than two weeks and the feeling was that this man may still be in the area.

"It was decided to put officers out to walk a pre-planned route which would be closely observed.

"We were not put under any pressure to do it and, at the time, I had no hesitation. Bosses fully briefed us on the three incidents that had taken place.

"We went out there knowing that this man attacked from behind without warning and we were well aware that from first contact he made it clear he would kill unless his victims did what he said."

Two routes were carefully mapped out with observation points which meant the decoys were in sight at all times.

One route covered the London Road between Southend and Chalkwell, the other the Southchurch Avenue, Queensway and Woodgrange Drive areas.

It was a massive operation to organise and it relied on the decoys crossing the road at certain points on route for their own safety.

The undercover officer said: "The first walk was by far the worst. I knew I had back-up but I was still apprehensive.

"I can remember my heart beating really fast as I walked down Fairmead Avenue from London Road towards Fairfax Drive.

"London Road had been well lit but this was just a long dark row of terraced houses - exactly like those in Beedell Avenue where a woman had been attacked.

"I remember thinking 'Oh my God. If he's going to come out at me he'll do it now."

The decoys all carried personal attack alarms and their CS sprays.

But they could not hear communication between those at the observation points as if they were aware they were being followed their reaction may have blown their cover and the whole costly operation.

"You are aware of everything, of every footstep behind you. You are just waiting for something to happen and at times it was scary."

At one point the decoy was followed by a man - only it was a different one to the one she was hoping to lure.

"I can remember not knowing if he was following me or not and I couldn't look back to see.

"I didn't think he was the man we wanted because he didn't seem to fit the description but in the dark it is very hard to tell." Police thank taxi drivers for patience

Dozens of cabbies operating in Southend were DNA-tested by police in a bid to snare the man who had attacked three times in two weeks in the town.

Licensed taxi drivers aged between 21 and 35 were targeted in a massive written appeal to help trace the fiend responsible for raping a 15-year-old schoolgirl and subjecting two other women to a terrifying ordeal.

All were eventually eliminated from the inquiry but it took time to work through the pile of paperwork.

The testing was done early on in the investigation when detectives were unsure if the man they were looking for was local.

All they knew was that he appeared to strike along the A13 corridor.

Det Supt David Bright, who led the inquiry, said: "I would like to thank the taxi drivers for their co-operation and patience.

"It wasn't that we thought a taxi driver was responsible but in the case of the three Southend victims and where they were attacked, the common factor was the A13 London Road.

"All three took place late at night when the most popular vehicle on the road is a taxi."

Paul Sutton, of the Southend Licensed Taxi Drivers Association, said: "We were asked to co-operate as there had been a serious assault.

"Reading between the lines it must have been an attack on a woman and we were more than happy to help.

"We all have wives and daughters who go out late at night and it was frightening to think that this man was out there somewhere."

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.